wesley

Thou God of truth and love,
We seek thy perfect way,
Ready thy choice to approve,
Thy providence to obey:
Enter into thy wise design,
And sweetly lose our will in thine.
Why hast thou cast our lot
In the same age and place?
And why together brought
To see each other’s face?
To join with softest sympathy,
And mix our friendly souls in thee?
Didst thou [...]

From John Wesley’s Sermon Upon our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount (VIII)
Therefore, “lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal.” If you do, it is plain your eye is evil; it is not singly fixed on God.
With regard to most of the [...]

And did those feet in ancient times
Walk upon England’s mountain’s green?
Blake’s Jerusalem is sung with patriotic fervour, despite the fact that William Blake did not intend his original poem that way would be horrified at this appropriation of it. But the combination of a stirring tune by Parry and the words about England’s green [...]

This is a gratuitous plug for a weekend event I’m organising with Andy Watts of the Carnival Band on June 27/28th.

Andy will provide music specially adapted from the arrangements used by Maddy Prior and the Carnival Band in their recordings ‘Sing Lustily and With Good Courage’ and ‘Paradise Found’. Assisted by one or more [...]

O Love divine, what hast thou done!
The immortal God hath died for me!
The Father’s co-eternal Son
Bore all my sins upon the tree;
Th’immortal God for me hath died!
My Lord, my Love, is crucified –
Is crucified for me and you,
To bring us rebels back to God;
Believe, believe the record true,
Ye all are bought with Jesus’ blood,
Pardon for [...]

A guest post by John Wesley.
1. To say, “This man is an Arminian,” has the same effect on many hearers, as to say, “This is a mad dog.” It puts them into a fright at once: They run away from him with all speed and diligence; and will hardly stop, unless it be to throw [...]

Would Jesus have the sinner die?
Why hangs he then on yonder tree?
What means that strange expiring cry?
(Sinners, he prays for you and me)
“Forgive them, Father, O forgive,
They know not that by me they live!”
Adam descended from above,
Our loss of Eden to retrieve,
Great God of universal love,
If all the world through thee may live,
In us a [...]

GREAT is our redeeming Lord,
In power, and truth, and grace
Him, by highest heaven adored,
His church on earth doth praise:
In the city of our God,
In his holy mount below,
Publish, spread his name abroad,
And all his greatness show.
For thy loving-kindness, Lord,
We in thy temple stay;
Here thy faithful love record,
Thy saving power display:
With thy name thy praise is [...]

O Love divine, what hast thou done!
The immortal God hath died for me!
The Father’s co-eternal Son
Bore all my sins upon the tree;
The immortal God for me hath died:
My Lord, my Love is crucified –
Is crucified for me and you,
To bring us rebels back to God;
Believe, believe the record true,
Ye all are bought with Jesu’s blood,
Pardon [...]

The Methoblog says God wants you to buy this book. I don’t know whether that’s true or not, but strangely my copy came from Amazon this very morning. When I’ve had a chance to look at it, I’ll let you know what I think.
One of the things that concerns me about the Methodist Church is [...]

LET earth and heaven combine,
Angels and men agree,
To praise in songs divine
The incarnate Deity,
Our God contracted to a span,
Incomprehensibly made man.
He laid his glory by,
He wrapped him in our clay;
Unmarked by human eye,
The latent Godhead lay;
Infant of days he here became,
And bore the mild Immanuel’s name.
See in that infant’s face
The depths of deity
And labour while [...]

Come, Thou long expected Jesus
Born to set thy people free;
From our fears and sins release us,
Let us find our rest in thee.
Israel’s strength and consolation,
Hope of all the earth thou art;
Dear desire of every nation,
Joy of every longing heart.
Born thy people to deliver,
Born a child and yet a King,
Born to reign in us forever,
Now thy [...]